An expert has warned the Winson Green riots are the worst since Strangeways, with reports of inmates breaking into new parts of the prison.

Fingers are being pointed at cost-cutting at the privately-run jail with reports of a “badly injured” prisoner and inmates burning and destroying their files and ambulances have turned up at HMP Birmingham.

Meanwhile prison affairs academic Alex Cavendish, who first broke news of the riot, said it was set to become the worst of its kind in more than 20 years.

Describing the incident as “probably most serious riot in a B category prison since Strangeways went up” in 1990, he said: “It is a very serious situation and I think the fact they have now accessed the key offices like the offender management unit - that is where all the offender records are.